Stencil



June 9, 1931. R. w. HUNTER 1,808,986

.STENCIL Filed April 29. 1929 'IIIIIIIIIIIIJ 'IIIIIIIIIIIII VETOR W 2 $6 ATTORNEY Patented June 9, 1931 ATENT QFFICE RALPH W. HUNTER, OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA STENCIL Application filed April 29,

My present invention relates to improvements in stencils, and has particular reference to stencils for painting or impressing signs and markers on pavements for traffic control.

One difficulty in the use of stencils for this purpose has been in ensuring contact of the entire stencil with the surface of the pavement, regardless of whether the pavement is plane or undulating. I have remedied this difliculty by using a flexible, but non-resilient, material for the stencil.

Another drawback to the use of stencils has been the necessity for retouchingthe stencilled letters having inner portions separated from the outer portions, such as O, A, etc. I have remedied this drawback by providing a paintpermeable reinforcement for such separated portions.

Another advantageous feature of the invention is the provision of special stencils for producing uniform letters or characters on a pavement surface which will appear substantially normal in form and shape to oncoming traflic.

With these and other features in view, the invention comprises certain novel features of construction, more fully disclosed in the detailed specification following, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved stencil for the letter O; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged section on the line 22 of Figure 1.

The improved stencil comprises a flexible mat 3 of material substantially non-resilient in use, preferably constructed of two or more layers of felt, cotton fabric, or similar material impregnated and held together with asphalt, tar, rubber, or other suitable substance, which will closely contact the surface of a pavement or the like when placed thereon. If desired, rubber or rubber compounds may be used, as these materials, while inherently 1929. Serial No. 358,816.

resilient, are substantially non-resilient when used in sheets.

Between two of these layers is embedded a layer of fine wire mesh l, preferably secured in the adhesive substance which is normally used to hold the two layers together. The stencil openings for producing the desired letters or characters are cut through the felt, fabric, or other material forming the body of the stencil, leaving the wire mesh exposed. '55 The wire mesh thus forms a paint-permeable reinforcement which permits use of quite large stencils without danger of bending or breaking.

The permeable reinforcement permits for mation of letters which have enclosed portions, such as O, A, P, and the like, without retouching to cover over the bars left by stencils of the usual type, and thus increases the appearance of the signs or markers and the speed of their application to the pavements.

In order to obtain normal appearance of the traflic control signs and markers when viewed by the driver of an approaching vehicle, the letters or characters are elongated in the line of vision; large stencils so elongated have large openings which occasion difliculty in use unless reinforced as disclosed.

It is therefore evident that the use of stencils with permeable reinforcements has advantageous features of value for stencilling in general, and of particular value for the production of relatively large traffic signs and markers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A stencil having a base of flexible material having st-encil openings therethrough, and a continuous layer of Wire mesh embedded between the surfaces thereof, said material being bonded together through the wire mesh openings.

2. A stencil having a base of flexible nonresilient material having stencil openings herethrough, and a continuous layer of wire mesh embedded between the surfaces thereof, said material being bonded together through the Wire mesh openings.

3. A stencil having a base of flexible textile material and impregnated with a flexible binder, and a continuous layer of wire mesh embedded between the surfaces thereof, said material being bonded together through the wire mesh openings.

10 Signed at Jacksonville, in the county of Duval and State of Florida, this 23rd day of April A. D. 1929. V

RALPH WV. HUNTER. 

